Utah’s state quarter unveiled

On Monday, Oct. 15, Utah’s state quarter was unveiled to the public, at the US Mint in Denver.

The quarter commemorates the completion of the first transcontinental railroad at Promontory, Utah on May 10, 1869. On the back, two locomotives face each other separated by a spike. The words "Crossroads of the West" stretch above the trains.

Residents favored this design over the other two final designs chosen by the US Mint in 2006.

These finalists portrayed the unique history of Utah. One coin depicted The XIX Winter Olympic Games, which Utah hosted in 2002, with a snowboarder above a range of mountains. The other displayed a beehive after the state’s flag and nickname.
"All citizens of Utah were invited to be a part of the design process by submitting proposals that would best represent the state and citizenry of Utah. This process was open through June 2005," read the Utah state Web site.

The Utah quarter will be the 45th in the state series, which, in 1999, began releasing different state quarters every 10 weeks in the order states were admitted into the union. The series will complete its run next year.

According to the Associated Press, the quarter will be available on Nov. 5.